Lura's Journey
by Sanluris
Summary: A Sunwing Fanfiction, set after Shade gets captured and put in the human flying machine.  Marina goes after him but is attacked by a Vampyrum, injured, and rescued by a human.  In the human's home, she befriends a Graywing that suffered as Shade did.
1. Chapter 1

AN: This is set after Shade is taken by the human flying machine and then I take it from there: Marina is starting to follow Shade but gets attacked by a Vampyrum (Not Goth, I know he's in there with Shade too) and finds a human who helps her out, and soon Marina finds a Graywing friend that vows to help her find Shade.

A/N Number Two: I used dialogue from Kenneth Oppel's book Sunwing, and events in Silverwing and Sunwing, readers of the books will recognize. I don't own them by any leap of the moon, but I do own Lura's dialogue, 'cause I made it up. Although she's a Graywing, and Kenneth created Graywing bats... (Falls into a chair, muttering to herself)

Well I've been looking around fanfiction and found some more Lura's...so I guess I don't own that name either. Must be a common enough name...or something. Mwah.

Read! Enjoy! Review! Come back later for more chapters!

Claws, razor sharp and serrated, plunged down at the young Brightwing bat with intent to kill. But she had other ideas; a quick roll to the side spared her life but sliced down her shoulder, the Vampyrum's claws digging deep, then pulling free. Gasping and losing altitude quickly, she prepared for the bite that would end her hopeless struggle against the Vampyrum. Suddenly her eyes spotted a smudge of movement, and she sent echoes down to identify the object. A _human!_ She felt a ripple of disgust at it, thinking of everything its kind had done to bats, to _Shade_. But her ears twitched as the monster bat behind her ground its teeth in anticipation of sinking its teeth into her heart, and she knew there was no choice if she wanted to live to see her Silverwing friend again. Drawing out her last bit of energy, she pumped her wings and dove for the human, sending echoes bouncing off of its large body. She noticed this human, a female, had a strange covering over its back and she dove quickly under it, perching on its shoulders, on all fours and tightening herself into a ball. The human female let out a cry and reached for her, but she scrambled away in fear.

Taking refuge near a human didn't mean that she was safe, but it wouldn't kill her right away; at least she had that going for her. Suddenly a blow jarred the human, causing the Brightwing bat to almost fall off of its shoulders; she clung with all her strength to the human's cloth covering and squeezed her eyes shut. A moment later she opened her eyes, unable to bear the suspense anymore, and poked her head out from the first covering the human female wore. Arms flailing, the female struck out with her huge, powerful limbs at the Vampyrum, who hissed and struck back with claws and teeth. Several deep bite marks and long gashes appeared in the human's hands and arms, but she swung her arm at the bat and swiped at it instinctively with her hands. Amazingly, the Vampyrum hovered for a few seconds before flying off. The Brightwing almost couldn't believe it, but didn't stick around long after it was gone. Suddenly iron hands grabbed her and held her close to its face. She was trapped.

"Let me go!" the bat screeched, trying to bite and claw her way free, but of course the female human couldn't understand. It was infuriating, and it didn't seem intent on letting her fly away. Suddenly she realized she was feeling dizzy from blood loss, and let her eyes droop shut as she blacked out.

Expecting to wake up in a human's lab, the young Brightwing was startled—albeit relieved—to find that she seemed to be in a human roost on a soft object. The same face from before loomed over her and stuck a soft looking white object on silver talons toward her, and she hissed as it stung her deep shoulder wound, but she was too exhausted to move. The object withdrew, and the female human held something out to her, and her eyes widened when she realized what it was: A tiger moth. As it moved closer, pinched between the human's hands, she sniffed it warily. It smelled alright, no strange stuff in it, and she was ravenous so she snapped it right out from the hand and chewed it quickly and then swallowed. The human female made a strange, low noise, and her fur bristled. But the human didn't do anything else threatening after that, and now that she thought about it, the sound had seemed...sort of happy. All her hopes about humans flooded back; maybe she could talk to the female, somehow. She took a breath and tried again.

"Why did you bring me here? Why aren't you hurting me like the other humans that killed all those bats?"

"She's not like those humans," a female voice said, and a gray blur swept down and crouched on all fours in front of the newcomer bat, wings folding up as the creature stood on its hind claws. "A Graywing! How—why are you here? She captured you too, then?" The other bat shook her head. "Not exactly. I thought she had at the time though, because I wasn't too fond of humans when she found me, either. I had one of those discs on me, see?" She pointed with a claw to her stomach, where the gray fur was growing back from being shorn off, and the Brightwing gasped. A diagonal line ran across a small portion of her belly, and the remains of old stitches that had seemingly been removed and healed over were covered with thin new ones. That _was_ what happened to Shade, then, after the human flying machine had taken him!

"How did you get it off?" The Graywing jerked a thumb claw towards the human female behind them both. "There are these buildings the humans have—no, not those buildings," she explained quickly to the other bat, seeing her bristling bright fur, "buildings that humans take bats and other animals too, I think, for healing. That's where this female human took me."

"That's...hard to believe." The Brightwing blinked, trying to take it all in, and the Graywing laughed. "I thought so, too, and I bit this human whenever she tried to pick me up, but I guess I've gotten to trust her. It could sound strange after all the things those humans did to us but maybe there are different humans: good and bad." Marina found herself smiling in relief. "So, you found a good human. I need to tell Shade..." she said his name without meaning to and fell silent, looking away from the Graywing. "Shade? Who's Shade?" Marina gazed back at the Graywing, sighed, and said firmly, "Names first."

"Lura Graywing. And what's yours, or will you tell me, O demanding one?" A grin was thrown towards Lura before she replied, "Marina Brightwing."

End! X3

Well, of the first chapter! If you want me to continue writing it, review! NOWWW!

I mean, please review. :3 Love you forever. (People run away screaming)

;-;

Um...oh yeah! This is my first Fanfiction. Tell me if it needs anything. I'm getting sorta used to this 'fanfic' thing. Nya.


	2. Chapter 2

I still don't own any of the storyline in Silverwing or Sunwing, none of the characters, none of the names. But I pwn you! (Is chased by an angry mob) I was joking!

Chapter Two

Lura blinked once Marina finished retelling all the things that had happened to Shade and her so far, ending with the Silverwing being taken away in the flying machine while she tried in vain to follow and rescue him. Suddenly overcome with helpless rage, she ground her teeth and hissed, "I hate the humans. I just...can't forget what they did to him, the cries he made when they were putting the disc on him..." she trailed off and tried not to let her tears show. Lura hopped closer to Marina and extended a wing, then patted the Brightwing softly. "You'll find him, or he'll escape. You said he was fighting, didn't you? Then he will probably try to get out, see?" Marina murmured doubtfully, wishing it were true but not seeing the optimism of an easy escape route for Shade from the flying machine. "Hey, you're going to go get him right?" Marina lurched back, unable to speak for a moment. It had crossed her mind, yes, but how could she do it alone? All the other bats were still in the human building, trapped, the only way out through a flap that only opened one way: in. Once a bat tumbled in, there was no getting out again. Unless...

She turned sharply and faced Lura, a bold look of determination burning into the Graywing's fur. "You said it. I'm going to go get him. I feel better now; that stuff your human used helped my shoulder heal faster." She spread her wings, but Lura stopped her. "Hey, you won't leave without me, will you?"

"But, your human—"

"I don't think she's trapping me here; she just wanted me to heal enough so I could leave again. Somehow I see it in her eyes. I don't understand it, really," she told the Brightwing upon seeing her astonished face. "I still can't believe it," Marina laughed, then jumped near out of her fur as a loud _clunk_ made her ears vibrate. Looking, she saw an opening in the female's roost that led out into the night. "See? We can go; it's alright." Lura and Marina spread their wings, and Lura flew through the opening after zooming once around the female human's head.

"Thanks, Human!" She cried cheerfully as she exited the human roost.

Marina flew out quickly in case the portal vanished, and coasted for a while, heart leaping wildly as a gentle breeze ruffled through her fur. "We're coming, Shade," she murmured.

"How are we going to do this?" Lura hissed quietly to Marina, skidding around on the slippery human roof, her claws creating a screeching noise on the metal that made both of their ears twitch at the painful sound. "There's a portal over here," Marina replied, scuttling over to it, Lura following behind the Brightwing with audible difficulty. "But one of us is going to have to hold the flap open so the bats can come out."

"You sure they'll want to leave? You told me how most of them were..." Lura faltered as Marina glared. "I'll convince them, trust me. Now follow!" She took off without another word and heard wingbeats trailing after her. Soon the two stopped flapping their wings and skidded toward the flap, which soon pushed open and moved toward them. Marina and Lura dug their claws in and tried desperately to break; Marina finally skidded to a halt and Lura sank her teeth into the rubbery flap and struggled against it as it tried to close. "Hurry," She growled through clenched teeth, biting down harder and flapping with all her might. She watched Marina fly in, and heard her frantic voice causing wings to flutter around the inside of the place.

_Ugh...hurry, Marina! I can't hold this thing much longer; it'll rip my teeth out!_

After several minutes a new voice called out and she heard wings flapping, coming closer to her. Suddenly the flap was yanked away painfully from her jaws and a strong hand grabbed the Graywing, stealing the breath from her in a painful whoosh. The last of the wingbeats faded away, but her friend was still coming. "No," she gasped as the flap began to drop. She tried to work her jaws around to bite the human hand, but she couldn't manage it, finding it hard to breathe she was becoming faint...

Oh no! What will happen? Who can save her now?? PWN the scary announcer guy!


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own the story, characters, names, hershey, cadillacs...

Lura: What's a cadillac?

Serasia: A shiny red human thing that they use to go places. The ones that can afford it that is. Here's a picture.

Lura: (Squints) Looks gray to me.

Chapter Three

Another set of fangs sank into the human hand and ripped away, causing the hand to withdraw sharply, but it came back almost instantly and was waving a sharp looking stick. It jabbed towards Marina, who was waiting for Lura to fly out; the Silverwings had escaped to safety and they were the only ones left. But thanks to the human, they might not make it out at all. The stick was going closer to Marina, who was trapped by the waving hand holding the stick. Rage toward the human filled Lura as she thought of them giving her human a bad name, hurting her fellow bats, using them to fight their dumb wars. Her mouth shot open and a series of echoes issued from her throat, and shattered the sharp stick, sending liquid and glass everywhere. Marina shot past the hand and through the flap. Lura followed, and the flap fell down right as they went through, almost trapping their tail membranes under it. Pumping their wings hard they flew up the chute and into the night, being greeted by a swirl of Silverwing bats. Lura jerked her head over at Marina and grinned, tired but elated. "We did it, we did it!" She exclaimed happily.

"Now to find Shade!" Marina grinned widely back, circling Lura, and then shot towards two Silverwing bats: one elderly looking one and an adult female, who were staring at them both anxiously, with almost a hint of fear. Marina spoke to them but before she could tell them about Lura the adult Silverwing coasted over to Lura and looked her up and down, then sighed. "Is...something wrong?"

"I mistook you for my son...it was far enough away that...I thought Marina had found Shade and brought him back to help, even after she said he was taken..." She looked away, perhaps in sorrow and fear for her son, and then glanced back at Lura. "Are you Marina's friend?" The aforementioned flew closer and introduced the Graywing.

"Ariel, this is Lura. Lura, I'm sure you figured it out already but this is Ariel, Shade's mother. Lura helped me keep the flap open while you all got out. Lura has been captured by the humans once too, and they put one of the discs on her!" Marina turned to the Graywing, who lurched away and widened her eyes. "Tell them how they did it," Marina implored, "We need to know, and if it happened to more than one bat with us they'll be more likely to believe us and stay with our group." A brightly furred wing gestured to the small amount of Silverwings that had escaped the building. The Graywing slowly shook her head. "No...I can't. I'm sorry." Marina was about to snap, insisting that she tell them, but Ariel flared a wing and shook her head at the Brightwing. "Not yet. She may seem fine, but she still needs to recover from an experience like that. Give her time, and she may tell us." Marina frowned and hung her head, then blinked and glanced back up at Lura who was hovering warily a few wingspans away. "Sorry, Lura. I saw Shade get all that stuff attached to him, and that was pretty bad, but it didn't actually happen to me. So..." She started to apologize again but Lura smiled. "It's ok. I'll...be able to talk about it later. If it'll help then..." She sighed and looked away. Ariel led the two back to Frieda, and Lura found out that she was the Chief Elder of the Silverwing Colony. She'd seen Silverwings before, but never been this close to actually talk to one of them, let alone two, or even be around a whole colony. "How many migrations have you been on, Lura?" Ariel looked across her wing at Lura, who seemed about Shade's size, so it wasn't hard for her to guess but she just wanted to make friendly conversation.

"One and that's it. Just, well...half of one." She broke off and Marina thought she saw her shudder. "My parents and the rest of our colony were flying through the snowy mountains but we were attacked by owls. They killed a few of our colony right off in an ambush, and we didn't even have time to fly away. My best friends were...and my mother and father..." her wings were shuddering so violently now Marina found it amazing that she could still fly. Ariel flew in close and wrapped her wings around the young Graywing, pulling her close to her chest fur. By instinct Lura dug her claws into Ariel's fur and cried into it, staining it a dark gray as her tears leaked over Lura's muzzle. It hit Marina suddenly; just before Shade and she had arrived at the small cabin in the mountains, they'd found hundreds of wings severed from bodies, wings that once belonged to Graywings, discarded because owls couldn't eat those because there was hardly any meat on them. That must have been Lura's colony, but she felt it best not to mention that, ever.

"Mom yelled for me to fly, and I did, but an owl followed me after it got her and almost caught me. But then..." she broke off and squeezed her eyes shut before continuing, "I was caught in one net, and the owl was caught in another. I saw their faces and I knew it was humans. The owl was thrashing around, and they stuck it with one of those sticks that tried to get you earlier, Marina, and they stuck me too. I fell asleep, woke up, and I had a chain with a disc stitched to my stomach, and it was already starting to hurt. The reached something toward my ear and squeezed it around the outer skin, and it hurt so bad I thought I'd choke. After they put the disc on the chain I could barely fly with the darn thing after they dumped me out over the city. I realized then that all the bats had a metal stud in their ears, maybe telling them to go toward the building, because they looked hypnotized or something. Mine musta not worked," She twitched her head, causing her ear to flap. Ariel and Marina saw a small metal silver dot in the membrane, and the ear itself was inflamed and puffy.

Lura rubbed it painfully and continued, "I saw everyone else flying to the building, getting consumed by fire, and not one came out. I knew I would die if I went where they were. I flew away from the city and couldn't help it; my wings just fell straight to my sides and I hit the ground. I waited for some animal to come get me because I knew I couldn't fly anymore, I was exhausted. That's when the human female found me though, and she took me to get the disc and chain off me. Well, I didn't know what she was going to do; I wondered if she was taking me somewhere to kill me, but I woke up later and the disc and chain were gone. Even after that I didn't trust her at first—honestly who would—but afterwards I found she wasn't like the rest of them...I saw it, I _felt_ it."

For a while Lura clung to Ariel's fur, then about a hundred wingbeats later she let go and flew in between Marina and Ariel. "You going to be alright?" They asked almost at the same time, and the Graywing nodded slowly. "Yeah, I am," she assured her friends, then asked, "So, what now? Are we going to go and find Shade?"

A/N: I think it's cute how Lura calls the human "her Human". Animals aren't pets anymore! X3 Whoa, there were a lot of mistakes. I am fixing them now, it should be easier to read. :)


	4. Chapter 4

I don't own Silverwing-Sunwing, or its characters, names dialogue you may recognize. Read and enjoy. :)

Lura: Yes, have fun reading about me!

Chapter Four

"Yes," Frieda called, overhearing, flying towards the three. "We must all decide what to do, and quickly." The Elder Silverwing coasted back to the shockingly diminished Silverwing Colony, leaving the three to follow. Lura gaped; it has felt like many more bats than just six had flown past her in the chute. Including the four of them, there were only ten. Such a small Colony...did they stand a chance out here? As Frieda neared, a male called nervously, "Why don't we return to Hibernaculum?" He shivered as Lura, Marina, Frieda, and Ariel roosted, and then folded his wings over his body. "We should all be hibernating by now. Who knows how long we'll last out here, freezing and with hardly any food?"

Marina and Lura exchanged an uncomfortable glance. Marina hated the idea of abandoning Shade, and Lura felt guilty that she personally liked the idea of going back to a safe place, and sleeping the winter through. Then she shook her head, a tiny movement, and realized she wanted to meet Shade and ask him more about what he'd been through. She wanted to see for herself that he'd been treated the same way as her, and maybe get some more answers.

"The flying machine that took Shade was flying south-southeast. I'm not going to leave him. I watched him fly away once, but I'm going to go find him!"

"The plane could be too far away now to even track. And it could have gone in another direction." Frieda said softly, extending a wing towards Marina. "I should've followed him," she muttered harshly to herself, "If I'd...been braver, I would have." Frieda and Ariel lifted their claws and moved down the branch, roosting closer to Marina. "No way, Marina," Lura burst out. "You would have experienced what I had to go through. I wouldn't have met you and found a new colony. I'd still be lost."

"And," Ariel put in softly, "you wouldn't have been able to warn us." Marina laughed, then hid her face behind a wing, but Lura had already seen the glistening teardrops streaming over her muzzle. "I'm used to males leaving me behind and not telling me. Suppose...I've gotten used to it," she sniffed, and shook her head, shaking the tears away.

"We should just go to Hibernaculum," the same Silverwing male from before interrupted, "I'm sorry, Ariel, for your loss. But how in Nocturna's name could we find him? Which way has it gone? We have no idea of knowing."

"You're right," Ariel replied sharply, glaring at the male named Windsling. "We don't know where he could be. But I've lost Shade before. I can't lose him again. You can go back if you want. I'm following the flying machine."

"Me too!" Lura chorused, and Ariel smiled at her. "You may go back to Hibernaculum, but we're going. Any who choose to come, speak up now." The bats that were going back to the Silverwing's winter roost fell away from the branch, and only two remained. "Warn any bats you see not to go into this building! It is an accursed place." Frieda shouted after the bats, and together, Marina, Ariel, Frieda, Lura, and the two other Silverwings flew off.

Lura's ears pricked suddenly, causing Marina and Ariel to glance at her strangely as she soared on ahead. "Look," she urged them, "Bats! About a hundred, and they're going to the Human Building!" Frieda shot past the Graywing and said in passing, "We must warn them," she said and Lura forced her wings to fly faster. "Look closer, Lura: do you know who that is?" Lura squinted at the distant figure leading the bats, then parted her jaws and identified him by her echoes.

"Achilles Graywing!" The young bat's disbelieving voice rang out as Frieda flew forward to greet Achilles, both flying around each other in a tight circle. "It's a pleasure, and a relief, to see you Achilles."

"The relief is all mine, Frieda. But we have bad news to give you. Hibernaculum has fallen." For a moment Frieda was frozen, her eyes shocked and furious. "The owls," she muttered dully, and the ancient Graywing nodded. "The owls have broken all Hibernation laws, attacking any and all roosts they can find, taking them prisoner or chasing them out and killing them. I've gathered some survivors, and we were on the way to rouse your colony, but we were too late. They were under siege, about a hundred owls, and we could not fight them."

Lura hovered nearby, ears straining to hear what Achilles was saying. He was possibly the most famous bat in the Graywing Colonies, especially hers, for reasons she didn't understand. Frieda seemed to freeze in midair, losing some altitude, but then recovered and flapped her wings to regain it. Lura flew closer and heard, "Your colony is imprisoned, Frieda, and I am sorry." He swept a wing towards some bats that had flown up. "We were spotted, and barely escaped the owls when they gave chase.""I must go help them!" Frieda cried, alarmed and incredibly angry. Achilles glanced at her sharply, shaking his head. "They are my colony!" the elderly bat yelled."I know!" Achilles shouted back. "But if you go to rescue them, you'll be outnumbered, then killed, and have done them no good!" Frieda's eyes lost their gleam. "To attack HIbernaculum...not in millions of years has this happened," she hissed, voice dull but filled with rage. Lura couldn't hold it in any longer, and flew close to Achilles. "Hey," she growled sharply, causing Frieda to give her a reprimanding look. Achilles looked her up and down, then his face lit up as he seemed to recognize her. "Lura?" The young bat was startled. "How'd you know my name?""I know your mother, Linden. I was part of your colony fifteen years ago, and after the rebellion battle I left, but before that and the battle she told me that she wanted to name a female newborn she might have in the future Lura. And, you look a bit like her." He glanced quickly at the Silverwing colony, then back at Lura. "Where is Linden?" Lura trembled a bit before whispering hollowly, "She's dead."

A/N: Poor Lura...Chinook doesn't have any parents now either...when will it stop?! (Weep ;-; )


	5. Chapter 5

Must be getting boring hearing me say it, so I'll sing it!

I doooooon't ooooooowwn the chaaaaaaaraaaaactersss ooooooooor theee storrrrrrryyyyy, or the naaaaaaaaaames... (Gets hit by tomatoes)

Chapter Five

There was no conversation for the next two thousand or so wingbeats, and at the end of the long flight, Frieda called out from the head of the Silverwings, "We have reached Bridge City, home of the Free-tailed bats."

Marina and Lura gaped as they neared the bridge that was home to the thousands of Freetailed bats. "This is amazing," Lura commented, watching as the bats left their roost as the twilight finally came, "I've heard of this place but never thought I'd get to see it." Marina batted the Graywing playfully in flight. "Well, you'll be in for a lot more than just this if you stick with us." Marina paused, glancing at Lura over her wing. "It's been on my mind for a while but it didn't seem like the right time to ask before. Something you did back in the Human building reminded me of Shade. He can move objects with sound, he's not a pro at it yet though, he couldn't even snap an icicle before!" Lura was staring at her with wide, puzzled eyes. "Let's roost and I'll tell you more."

Lura found it easier to pay attention now that the ear with the stud in it had stopped smarting. She had felt the heat and knew it must be infected, but didn't know what to do until a Freetailed bat had approached Marina and her, drizzling some liquid onto the Graywing's ear which had cooled it and made it feel ten times better.

"Shade has this weird ability to move things around with sound, but I've never seen him do anything like that before, shattering something completely. He'll be jealous if I know him!" Lura glanced up at her claws where they were digging into a wooden support of the bridge. "I didn't really know I could do it; I was just so mad then and wanted to get the human away from you. They used that stick thing on me before and bam, before I knew it I was out cold and they had me."

"I never said...Thanks, either. So, thank you." A grin appeared on the Graywing's face, but vanished just as quickly as it appeared, and her nostrils rippled in disgust. "What _is_ that smell? It's terrible," she gagged, using her wings to cover her face. "I recognize it," Marina exclaimed, to which Lura replied in a muffled voice, "I am so sorry." Angling her head slightly towards her back, she threw out echoes and the upside down outline of a small, hunched creature showed up etched in her echo vision. "Rats!" She cried, and Lura jolted in shock, removing her wings from her face. "Yuck! You serious?"

"Come with me!" Marina cried, dropping from her roost. "Are you _mad_?" The Graywing shrieked as she saw where Marina was flying. But she followed anyway; Marina didn't just soar into things blindly, unlike this Shade Silverwing she'd heard so much about, so she too fell from her roost and coasted slowly after her friend and landed a few wingspans away from the rat. "Romulus! Do you recognize me?" If Lura had been flying she'd have plunged right out of the air in shock. The rat carefully looked her over, then showed his fangs in a, to Lura, terrifying smile. "Yes, I believe I do. You escaped, then!"

"Thanks to you," Marina replied, and Lura scuttled closer, hissing in her friend's ear, "Who is he? And how in Nocturna's name do you know him?" Marina whirled to face Lura, pointing a claw at 'Romulus'.

"He saved Shade's and my life when we were trapped by a whole underground colony of rats. We would have had our wings torn off if it hadn't been for him, then probably eaten or just killed right on the spot." Lura narrowed her eyes and squinted at the scarring on Marina's forearm; it seemed that had almost happened already. "He's a friend, don't worry, and he knows about Shade too. Come on, talk to him." The Graywing stiffened in shock as Marina pushed her closer. "But-b-but...what do you think you're..."

"Lura, right?" The bat extended an arm and she thought she'd pass out right then and there. Between the bat's arms and back legs were undoubtedly webs of membrane, not that different from all bats' wings everywhere. His back legs were even being lifted up slightly due to being connected to his forearms. "My name is Romulus, king of the rats."

"H-hi..." she stammered, frightened, and the large rat laughed. "Don't worry, I won't eat you. I told Marina as such when I first met her." Lura glanced back at Marina and stared in amazement. "You gonna tell me anything else, that maybe you're friends with the owls or something?"

"Don't be silly. Even Shade wouldn't go that far, and he's looked at the sun!"


	6. Chapter 6

Nothing is mine, everything belongs to Kenneth Oppel, including the world! No really his books are all over the place, even in Tokyo. I own my candy, and you can't have any. Well OK, here you go.

Chapter Six

"So..." Lura advanced toward Romulus with uncertainty. "You saved Marina and Shade before? That's all well and good, but what are you doing here?" She heard a rustle of wings and saw Marina holding a wing to her head, slowly shaking it back and forth. "What?" The Graywing demanded. "Did I do something wrong because I'm not friends with a different species?"

"No!" The Brightwing snapped, glaring at Lura, wondering how she could say that. "Didn't you notice?"

"Yes I did notice! But why is he here? What does he want?" Romulus tapped Lura on the shoulder and she squeaked in fright. He took no notice and explained, "The rats are at war with these giant bats—the Vampyrum Spectrum—as they have been killing our kind. But they're killing bats and owls, too, and the owls think that your species have been killing them. You have heard that the skies are closed to bats, and especially to Silverwings, haven't you?" Marina gave Lura a peculiar look. "Where have you been when all this was going on?" She couldn't believe that a bat wouldn't have heard about this new war caused because of the Vampyrum. Lura whirled and bared her teeth, rasping out a hiss. Jabbing a claw into her stomach where the scar was still visible, she snarled with an infinite amount of hatred, "I was in the human building, getting metal sewed onto my skin," she finished with a hiss, and Marina winced, remembering.

"_Then_ I was getting dropped over that blinding Human City, watching other bats being burned alive. Where were _you _when I explained all of this?" Without waiting for a reply, or a sharp retort, she spread her wings and soared off, anger fueling her wings. She didn't hear wingbeats following her for quite a while, so she found a place to roost and sank her claws deep into the frozen bark of a branch, folding her wings around her body to keep her warm. Suddenly she felt something brush against her, then grab her by the shoulders and yank her claws straight out of the bark. She yelped in shock and twisted her neck upwards to see what had captured her. She struggled, scratched, and bit, but she was suddenly hit over the head and, half-conscious, hauled along by the thing had had gotten her.

Marina flew back to Bridge City as fast as she could. _You let him get away with her! You let another friend be kidnapped!_

"SHUT UP!" She screeched to the insufferable voice inside her head, brought on by her guilt and fear. A guilt-trip now was the last thing she needed. "Ariel! Frieda! Help!" Ariel and Frieda, as well as the two other Silverwings and a few of the Freetails, glanced her way in shock and annoyance.


	7. Chapter 7

Usual stuff, don't own the characters, names, story, or anything. Those belong to Kenneth Oppel.

Chapter Seven

The first thing she felt was coldness beneath her, and she slowly opened her eyes, wincing. It wasn't brightness, it was her head hurting. And she couldn't see her claws in front of her face; an inky darkness was all around her, making her feel like she was blinded. So, she used her echo vision.

She cast out echoes in the inky darkness and gasped, her vision fading for a moment. Most of the bats were healthy looking, scared, and beaten up a bit, but the rest of the Silverwings were half-starved and looked to be near death. There were Brightwings, Silverwings, and even Graywings like her. One bat in particular, a Silverwing, stood out. His ribs were poking painfully through his skin and he was holding one of his wings funny. Then she realized what had caught her attention: a silver band, barely standing out in the darkness. She crawled across the broken stone floor to him, accidently treading on bats as she went, causing them to hiss at her to watch it. The Silverwing stared lifelessly at her, yet there was still some sympathy in his hollow eyes. "How long have you been here?"

"A few weeks, and they haven't fed us...any of us."

"That's terrible, what do they want?" She sent echoes over his arm, the one with the silver band fastened to it. "Did the humans give you that?" The Silverwing nodded slowly. "Why did they take us here?" She received a confused look from him, and he shook his head.

"The humans didn't bring us here...the Vampyrum did."

"Vampyrum...Marina was talking about them! She said she and Shade got captured by them once!" She'd just been working things out for herself out loud, but for some reason this drew the other bat's attention. "You said Shade...is he a Silverwing?" Lura nodded, perplexed. "Yeah, I think he's about my age, Ariel told me that...""Ariel," the Silverwing breathed, "she's my mate. And Shade is my son. Was he with you before this? Did the...Vampyrum get him?" The Graywing moved her head from side to side. "No, but the humans caught him and put some metal stuff on him, Marina told me. Actually, they did it to me, too." She noticed he was sniffing, tears falling over his muzzle, tracing through his fur. "That means he's still in the jungle somewhere," he said miserably, and Lura saw he looked so helpless and broken, torn. "Well...when Marina, Shade's friend, told me about him she said he was still in a flying machine."

"It's just a matter of time before the Vampyrum get him." The Silverwing muttered to himself, and the Graywing wondered if he'd even listened to that last part. Then she remembered something, and as much as it tore at her to say it, she did, "How do you know he didn't die in the explosions?" The Silverwing male jerked his head off to one side and Lura glanced over: a younger Silverwing was huddled off by himself, and she detected light sobs coming from him. "Who's that?" She asked, not remembering his form before.

"That's Chinook, Shade's friend. They were both dropped off here together, and escaped the explosions. Then they must've come to the jungle, and Chinook was captured some time after that. He thought I looked like Shade, except I was older."

Suddenly the circular stone slab was thrust aside once more, and a Vampyrum Spectrum thrust his frightening, ugly face in the room, letting the pale twilight sun stream in, temporarily blinding Lura and the other bats. Her eyes getting used to the blinding light, Lura, with difficulty, didn't pull her gaze away from the Vampyrum. She cowered under his murderous gaze, and screeched in shocked when he suddenly flew into the chamber and pinned the older Silverwing down to the floor, his ebony teeth bared, saliva dripping from them. She stood frozen for a moment, then thought of Shade who, if this bat was killed by the Vampyrum, would never see his father again. Shunting the thought that she was a speck of dust to this bat, she launched herself on him and sank her teeth into the back of his neck. He grunted in surprise and let the Silverwing up, and he quickly scuttled a short distance away. Rearing, and twisting, the Vampyrum threw Lura off and lumbered over to her as she hit the wall and lay stunned. He leaned in close and revealed his fangs, right next to her head, and exhaled a deep breath. It left her gagging, retching for breath and quivering in shock. She let her head fall back in relief when the Vampyrum exited the room, pushing the slab shut again, flinging the room into darkness. She was blinded again, but felt wings rustling, coming closer to her.

"Are you alright?!" A voice snapped, yanking her upright. "You could have been killed!" She shook her head, and staggered back a few paces, staring towards the voices, her throat aching too much to use echoes. "Why did you do that? I'm an old bat that doesn't have much time left anyway! If you died, you'd miss your whole life!" He shrieked, flaring his wings, forgetting about the injured one. Lura stepped right up to him and snarled, "I have no mother and father. I know how it feels to lose your parents, to be abandoned with no one else in the world." She paused, letting her words hover in the dark chamber. "Did you really want to die before you could see Shade?" The Silverwing had no reply, so she snapped, "Thought not." She turned away and let her sobs echo through the chamber. More wings rustling and she felt two pairs wrap around her: Chinook, and the older Silverwing.

"What?" She asked bitterly, choking on her sobs.

"My name is Cassiel. What's yours?"

Through sniffles she managed to reply.

"It's Lura."


	8. Chapter 8

I don't own the story, names, or...what was the other thing I usually put...?

Lura: Hackey sacks.

Serasia: Oh right! I don't own hackey sacks.

Lura: Heehee.

Chapter Eight

The three bats, two Silverwings and one Graywing, sat talking to each other for a while, exchanging stories. Until the same Vampyrum flew in, this time accompanied by several more, and together began trapping bats in their claws. One went for Lura and grabbed her, then with his other claw sank his claws into Chinook's shoulders and flew out of the opening. She threw echoes out in a frenzy, and caught Cassiel's form, also being taken through the air by another Vampyrum. "Be grateful, all of you lowly Northern bats," the one who'd attacked Cassiel earlier growled in a sickly pleasured tone, "You will soon be offered up to Zotz, the greatest bat god, and soon the ruler of this world!"

_If what that Vampyrum said was hard to believe_, Lura thought, staring up at the vulture circling the sacrificial area, _then it'll be even harder to believe if I survive this place._ Around her, bats were fleeing into the air, the ones that weren't free fighting their captors to have a chance at getting out. "Chinook, Cassiel!"

"Here!" A shout came from nearby, and she whirled, flying over to them. "It's Cassiel's wing," Chinook grunted to her, trying to lift Cassiel up on his back, as if thinking of flying him out, "he can't fly. How can we get him out of here?"

"I don't know," Lura quivered, "I don't kn—" She screamed in terror as a Vampyrum swooped down on them, and she readied herself to be brutally murdered. She'd seen the other bats killed; the Vampyrum with the crooked spine and shedding gray fur had ripped their hearts out while they were still alive. But instead of ripping their hearts out, the Vampyrum swooped up and away from them while another gave chase; Lura frowned. They didn't even get along among the ranks of their own kind? She shrugged and looked back at Cassiel, who was flat on the stone floor, wings spread out. His eyes squinted shut, then he shot them open again. "I'll crawl to the exit and fly out, never mind my wing. You two can help me, I have to get out and see Shade!" Suddenly his head snapped up, and he hissed, baring his teeth. Chinook and Lura leapt away from him, startled, then looked to see what Cassiel was staring at. A form shimmered into view, stepping out of thin air, it seemed. "Who are you?" Cassiel asked warily, "I've met you," he added, closing his jaws. Chinook stepped forward, but Lura held up a wing as Shade began to speak.

"You haven't met me," Shade shook his head.

"I know you," Cassiel persisted weakly, wrinkling his brow in confusion, trying to place Shade's face.

"You don't know me," Shade shook his head again. Cassiel's shoulders sagged with frustration. "Who are you, then?"

"I'm your son," the younger Silverwing said, finally revealing his identity to Cassiel. "Shade?" The old Silverwing gasped, and Shade lurched in shock. "How'd you know?"

"Your mother and I named you before you were born." The two hugged each othe tightly, folding their wings around the other tightly, and Lura thought it was sweet, very sweet and touching, but they had to get out of here. "We have to go now, and I mean now!"

"How? He can't fly!!" Chinook raised a wing and smacked Shade clean across the face. "Pipe down Shade, we'll help you." A grateful grin was morphed into a look of panic and pain as the same massive Vampyrum slammed into Shade, sliding both of them across the floor a good five feet.

"I knew it was you," Lura heard the Vampyrum growl, "and you've stopped me from killing the sun, but I'll still be able to rip your heart out!"

"NO!!" Several voices chorused, one of them Lura's, the others, Chinook and two female voices that the Graywing couldn't identify just yet. Lura and Chinook lighted in unison, snapped their wings to the sides of their bodies, and then dropped straight down, aiming for the Vampyrum. Lura caught a glimpse of silver and bright fur beside her before impact.

WHAM!

The four of them had done a steep dive from the air, hoping the speed would increase their body weight enough to damage the Vampyrum a little bit. Lura, Marina, Ariel, and Chinook flapped clear of the jerking body; it seemed they had stunned him momentarily. Thank Nocturna.

"Shade!" Marina practically wept for joy when she spotted Shade crawling out from under Goth's body, with forming bruises but otherwise unharmed, towards his family and friends. "Let's go Shade!" She yelled at him, pushing him urging him to fly. "But, my father..." A Graywing landed in front of him and pointed a claw towards a Mastiff bat who was lying, wings spread to their full span, on the ground and waiting as Chinook and Ariel pushed Cassiel onto his back. "Now, move!" Caliban snarled, showing Shade his teeth before lifting off. The Silverwing glanced back at Goth's body and scowled, then took flight after everyone else had. Marina, Ariel, Chinook, Caliban and his father, on the mastiff's back, had escaped. Barely a few feet from the ground, he felt something sharp penetrate his tail membrane and yank him, hard, back to the chilled stone ground that was splattered with the blood of bats that had been sacrificed already. Goth's claws released him and Shade leapt back into the air, then darted off, leading the Vampyrum on a wild chase. His heart thudded wildly, but he barely felt it, his fighting and survival instincts kicking in and keeping him inches away from Goth's teeth. On top of that, the Vampyrum seemed in such a frenzy to kill that he was becoming careless, striking with anger, and not planning all his attacks out.

Lura hesitated, hovering just before the exit portal, and turned to see Shade dodging the Vampyrum. Suddenly it lunged at him and his knife-like teeth barely missed the Silverwing's shoulder, removing some of his fur and leaving a small bare spot. "Lura, what are you doing? Get out now!" Marina's teeth met her scruff and yanked her backwards through the air, but Lura jerked free and motioned towards Shade. "Remember what I can do with sound? I can help Shade!" Marina hissed, her lips pulling away from her pearly white teeth. "No! He can handle it on his own! Now come on!" Still Lura hesitated, and flew back in the chamber, then braked just in time to avoid a mid-air collision with that extremely weathered (How could he still _fly, _She marveled to herself) Vampyrum bat that had been murdering bats for this so-called god, 'Zotz'.

But what could she do? She knew she could only break things with sound, not move them or spin illusions like a tiger moth. Then a dark object gleamed oddly on the Vampyrum's wrist, some version of a band that marked out a bat's cruelty to others? All of the bands of the bats she'd met were silver, and they'd been incredibly kind to her, taken her in when she was just an orphaned Graywing.

_Wait! That's what I can use!_


	9. Chapter 9

Me: That wasn't really funny...

Lura: Yes it was. They're still smiling, look.

Me: Whatever...I don't own the story, characters...man, I just can't remember. What don't I own?

Lura: Me.

Me: I don't own Lura.

Chapter Nine

"Shade!" She screeched at the very top of her lungs, which was hard since she usually had such a quiet voice, "get away from him! Fast!" Shade glanced her way, teeth bared in his fighting frenzy, but amazingly he obeyed and backwinged away from the Vampyrum. Lura locked her echo vision onto the dark band, hoping it would work. She let a jet of sound loose, and she felt her heart flutter as she hit the right frequency. The sound spear hit the band and made it quiver for a few moments, then it splintered into hundreds of shards and thousands of microscopic slivers, all embedding themselves into the side of the monster bat's face, wings, forearm, and as he gave a massive pain-filled shriek, she realized he had been a wingbeat away from being blinded in his eyes.

"Lura, come on!" Shade yelped to her, and together they flew out of the portal. "NO!

"Lura! GET OUT! GET OUT OF HERE, NOW! FLY AND DON'T STOP!"

She jerked her head up in a panic at the sound of Shade's stricken voice. She was about to yell, "What is it, what's wrong?" but then she saw it. A disc, not unlike hers in looks; it was shining silver, but there was a world of difference in the design. It was twice as big as hers, bigger than her whole head, and it was now screaming towards all of them. "Shade?!" She shrieked in alarm when she saw Shade flying right for the disc. "Don't! Come with me, let's go together! We can't stop it!" Marina soared up beside Lura and added her voice to the din of the disc whistling through the air, the sound piercing Lura's ears painfully. "There's no time!"

"I'll make time! You two fly! And I mean it, GO!"

Marina shook her head, and Lura hovered, uncertain that she should follow Shade's orders, but Chinook dropped right out of the sky and hung right in from of them. "Go, Marina, Lura, just go! It'll be okay! Shade can do this, I know it! Trust him!" The Brightwing and Graywing finally flew off, feeling sickened and guilty for abandoning their friend. They knew they had to trust Shade, but it was difficult to ditch him like this—they might never, ever see him again. Neither of them could bear thinking about it, Marina most of all. Slowly, so that Marina didn't notice, Lura had begun to fly slowly and fall behind. She was positive Marina hadn't seen or heard her, so she turned tail and shot back towards the pyramid. Only then did she realize Chinook hadn't followed them.

Shade quickly aimed at the disc, but missed, closed his eyes, and aimed again. This time he hit it, and the gargantuan disc came to a painfully slow halt, hovering in midair, turning over and over as it floated, cradled by sound. "You cannot stop Zotz, pathetic Silverwing! It is futile; let it fall!" Shade glowered at the ancient cannibal bat and didn't let up the sound assault, not until the crooked bat latched his claws around the disc and forced it downward. Shade lost a few inches in the air; the disc was now heavier than he could bear, and he felt warm liquid on his tongue, and tasted the metallic tang of blood. _No...let go...you monster, let GO!!!_ He howled inside his head, feeling his body start to give out.

"SHADE! Hang on!" A voice yelled, and the Silverwing risked a few seconds to glance over towards the voice. Chinook and Lura! He felt angry that they hadn't listened to him, didn't they know only he could do this, but he felt relief that he'd see his friends before he helped fulfill Zotz's sacrifice. Then he blinked in shock as the two bats fell out of the sky and landed on the bat. Chinook crawled down the huge, bent body and bit at the cannibal's claws until he let go of the disc. It fell a few feet, but Shade managed to make it float again. The elderly Vampyrum hissed and snarled violently, slashing at Lura's forearm with his dull hind claws, and biting Chinook deeply in the shoulder with horrific smelling teeth.

Then sunlight illuminated every one of the bats' fur; the eclipse was over. Shade pushed the disc higher into the air, then let it drop and shot like a bullet away from the cannibal bat, giddy with relief, but felt his wingbeats slowing. Lura and Chinook were there, both bleeding from the cannibal's assault, but they pushed him along. Lura, in a frantic rush, grabbed Shade's forearm with her teeth and tried to drag him through the air. He flicked his head side to side, but they didn't leave him. Then he heard the disc explode, and felt the radiating heat start to catch up with them. He felt his fur ruffle from the sonic boom, then begin to disintegrate from the heat wave, and hoped that it would be quick..

-

"Shaaaaaaaade, Chinoooooook, Luraaaaaaaaaa!" Marina cried into the daylight, blinking sleepily, trying to block out the sun by only using echoes. Even using only echoes, her eyes were beginning to ache from going without any sleep these past few days...more than that, actually...eight days they'd been at it, but not found any sign of their friends. Then...

"Marina?" A voice moaned from a nearby tree, and Marina immediately knew who it was. She coasted down and lighted on a branch, not bothering to roost upside down, for Shade, Chinook, and Lura were lying spread-eagled on the very highest branches, staring down at her, smiling weakly. She craned her neck, then flew up closer to them. "How'd you get here?"

"Well, we flew as far as we could..." Lura explained, "then kinda crash-landed here and decided we'd hang out for a while.." She squeezed her eyes shut and coughed, then tried to rise to a lift-off position and flap over to Marina. She failed brilliantly, however, and crashed down through the bare, poking branches of the tree, luckily catching herself on a thicker branch farther down. "Hey," she called up, her voice faint, "I don't suppose you brought Caliban with you?"

In spite of everything, Ariel, Marina, Shade, Chinook, and Lura shared a weary, but heartfelt laugh.

"Can I make it, I hope so, and I really...oh crap!" One of Lura's wings had folded from the pain of her melted and burned wings, and she quickly fell several feet through the air. The owl called Orestes dropped down and flew under her so that she fell onto his back. Squirming, she got a claw hold in his shoulder feathers and they flew the next fifty wingbeats to Bridge City. "So," Shade asked slowly, anxiously, "do you and your father...get along well?" Orestes didn't reply for a few moments. "Not...really."

"Oh."


	10. Chapter 10

Wow, it's the second-to-last chapter! Are you excited? Disclaimer stuff: I don't own Silverwing, the characters, or the names. Kenneth Oppel does.

Chapter Ten

Lura tried to duck out of sight behind Oreste's feathers as he flew towards his father, but King Boreal had already spied her gray fur among Oreste's lighter feathers, and he screeched in shock. Lura's ears twitched in alarm and pain, and she tried even harder to press her small body into his feathers. "Orestes!! What are you doing with bats?!"

"Father, wait. I'd be grateful if you'd let me speak." Clearly fuming, but having fallen silent, Orestes took these signs from his father as a way of him saying 'you may continue'.

"This has a great deal of importance with the events happening now. We cannot go to war with the bats." He explained hopefully, seeing how these words would affect his father. An alarming series of hoots, jeers, and disapproving head shakes from the other owls greeted his statement. "Your son needs to know when to hold his tongue," an owl hooted angrily, but quieted when King Boreal glared at him, his head twisting around so much it appeared it had turned completely around. Lura felt like she was going to be sick, but tried to hold it down for Orestes' sake.

"Why have you said this, Orestes?" The young owl didn't turn away from his father's condescending gaze. "Shade Silverwing saved my life. Twice, in fact, he and his friends saved my life the second time. The first time, he hardly knew me, and although we have killed bats and declared war on them, he risked his life to save mine. The murderers of owls are not the Northern Bats. They are monstrous jungle bats from the south that have been killing bats and rats, not just owls."

"We expected these lies. And as for the bat saving your life...that was a strange act of bravery, but has nothing to do with the task at wing." King Boreal sniffed and tossed his head, as if flicking away a bug, but his son shot his wings open so fast and hard that Lura had to cling for dear life to stay on. "They are _not_ lies," he growled, "The cannibal bats were taking owls _and_ bats to their human cities to help them fight their war." No angry outbursts or jeers came from the owls this time, only shocked exclamations and disbelieving faces. "I can't say everything just yet. But father, the south is home to thousands of cannibals, who were taking owls prisoner, including me. All of us would have been killed by these monsters if Shade hadn't found it in his heart to help us. We're here now because of Shade Silverwing."

"Why should that make us put a stop to the war?" Somewhere in the middle of the throng of bats, Shade's voice yelled out boldly, "Because we don't want war!" Lura saw Halo Freetail snarl at Shade, lifting his lips to show his teeth, and she felt a spark of anger. "You have waged war on us before, Silverwing, and I assume you've heard of it from your elders! Fifteen years ago you waged war on the owls!" It was Achilles that spoke this time, snarling angrily at the owl King.

"It's true that we waged war, but not for the sake of violence or power, we wanted the sun back, and be free of your tyranny, King Boreal, even at the risk of death!"

"You have _lost_ the sun," the King of the owls said, shrugging off the elderly Graywing's outburst, "for your treachery in the Battle of the Birds and the Beasts!"

"Because we didn't take sides!" Achilles snapped back, sheer anger smoldering in his eyes.

"You switched sides, bat!" King Boreal hooted loudly, causing a few bats including Lura, and even a few of his own squadron, to stare at him in fear. "No, King Boreal," Achilles put in, "you are mistaken, and you have been for millions of years." The owl looked at Achilles Graywing haughtily. "It is pitiful that you believe your own tales of deceit." Lura saw that Shade was at his boiling point. He flew closer and hissed angrily, some of his fur bristling, "What does it matter?"

"Silence!" Halo chastised Shade, raising a wing as if to cuff him. "You don't have place to speak here."

"Why not?" Orestes challenged Halo, meeting the bat's eyes steadily. "Because he knows nothing," King Boreal said, for a rare moment joining with a bat to silence the impudent youths, "like you," he finished scathingly. Achilles flew softly up behind Shade, and patted him with a wing. "Let him speak, King Boreal, Halo," he said calmly, "Frieda Silverwing has much faith and confidence in this young bat." All eyes swung around to stare straight through Shade. Lura held her breath: What would he tell them all?

"It...happened too long ago," The young Silverwing started, faltering only a little bit, but breaking up with nervousness inside, "and it's over, even if no one knows what the truth is anymore."

"The truth is _everything_," King Boreal stated, glaring at Shade, though there was a strange glint in his eyes. "I thought so too, I thought the sun was stolen from us and I wanted to get it back." He glanced guiltily at Marina and Lura, then back to King Boreal. "I thought the humans would help us somehow, that they'd help us against the owls. I thought we'd beat the owls, I really did," he said, then halted, and Lura winced too. That wouldn't go over to well with the owls, but she couldn't get up in front of everyone, owls, bats, rats, and speak at all. So she threw that thought away quickly. "I thought that was the truth, but it wasn't. The Humans didn't help us fight a war, they just _used_ us to fight _their_ war. That's how I met Orestes, in the owl part of the Human Forest. He wanted to kill me, and I guess that I wanted to kill him too." King Boreal gave a short laugh, causing Shade's body to twitch in anger, but he kept speaking.

"There was something else, though, that wanted to kill us," Shade began again, and Orestes elaborated, "The cannibal bat." Shade nodded, agreeing, then pressed forward with his clumsy speech, "I guess, after it attacked Orestes, I just thought that it was too cruel to just watch him be killed. Then Orestes helped me, helped all of us." He raised a wing and swept it back and forth at their group of bats and rats: Lura, Chinook, Ariel, Marina, and Cortez, whose large conflagration of rats were waiting under the bridge. "That was more important that a battle that happened a million years ago..."

Every group was silent for a few painful moments, and Lura was preparing to fly, useless as her wings were, if it came to a full-blown war right then and there.

"I find all this youthful naïveté trying," an owl sighed, glaring at Shade and Orestes as he said it. Achilles raised his eyes skyward. "It would be wise to heed them more carefully."

Then, he said it—Lura couldn't believe he said it—"Perhaps so." King Boreal's eyes became softer, and his wings relaxed slightly, drooping his shoulders; even powerful, important figures like King Boreal got tired of things, Lura wondered in amazement. The owl's strong wing muscles flexed as he flew over to Orestes. Lura tensed and squeezed her eyes shut. Although the two short words he'd just spoken gave her a tiny light of hope, he was still a frightening figure. Owls had murdered her whole Colony, after all.

"I had given you up for lost, Orestes," the owl King murmured, "and I missed you dearly."

"Me too," the owl prince replied, and Lura felt him moving through the air. Cracking her eyelids open, the Graywing finally slid from Orestes' back and flapped her wings, wincing as she coasted over to Shade and the others. In a louder tone, King Boreal addressed all the parties, "My appetite for war is dulled. Let us agree to a truce, if that is acceptable. Let's meet in the summer to speak more of this, so we can understand each other better."

"Yes, we will do that, King Boreal," Halo Freetail agreed, and the king spread his feathered wings out as far as they'd go. "The night skies are yours again, and you may fly in peace again."

"The sun," Shade fumbled the words out, and everyone waited to see how King Boreal would react to this. "So, are the nights not enough for you, Silverwing?" The Graywing glanced carefully over at her friend, who was shaking his head, acting like he'd forgotten how to use words. "We will have to discuss that this summer, also," the owl ruler replied, tilting his head to the side, "but until then, I give my consent to an interim measure."

_Bwa?_ Lura thought, flabbergasted, her eyes wide and her jaw agape. Maybe those were words only owls used...she had no clue what they could possibly mean, but it sounded good. "You've returned my son to me, Shade Silverwing," King Boreal boomed, finally using Shade's name instead of hatefully spitting out the word 'bat' or 'Silverwing', "So, in exchange; I will return the sun to you." Shade was quaking so much Lura wondered if someone would have to carry him back to Frieda. She jolted back a few inches and Shade narrowed his eyes at her. "There's something...you should know Shade," Marina told him softly, as if reading Lura's mind. He had to know. "What?" He questioned, anxiously looking between the two females. Marina and Lura gestured towards the bridge, then without waiting, flew off and left him to follow.

What is it?! Well, you can guess probably. You've all read the book right? Yeah. Or else a lot was given away.


	11. Chapter 11

Last time, you can get through it. I don't own the story, names, or the characters. Or the dialogue. I am not a copy cat. Copy bat.

Chapter 11

"Frieda?" Shade gasped, then lowered his voice and asked Ariel, who had returned to the bridge some time ago, "Is she still breathing?" A weary, grizzled voice responded, "I believe I am, Shade." The three young bats landed and roosted around Frieda, Shade and Marina on Frieda's left, Lura on the elder's right side. "Your mother told me everything about your meeting with the owls." Worry for Frieda's health had pushed all the dizzy happiness out of his mind, but he summoned it back now and exclaimed, "We have the skies back, and the sun! But aside from that, we need to make a new Tree Haven, and I want to help. It's my fault the old one's gone."

"Shade, remember when I said there was a brightness in you?" Shade nodded, harping on Frieda's every word. "It's so satisfying to be proven right, and that doesn't happen often when you're an elder." Shade seemed to have been muted, his mouth opened and hung that way, but no words emerged. "You did what _I _wanted to do, many years ago. You fulfilled the Promise," she smiled, and painstakingly lifted her forearm, the one with the silver band. Shade cringed away from it, and Lura mirrored the movement. She didn't feel guilty about hating it; after all, her female human was still good in her eyes, not having participated in anything that had been done to her, she was completely sure of that.

"Shade, the bands were important," Frieda rasped. Shade's head tilted to the side in confusion. "I think I get it," Marina added, "They did play a part." That ruffled Shade's fur right there. "How? How can you say that? Look at Lura, Chinook, and me! Look at the scars on our stomachs! We were almost burned alive because of the humans." Marina's face curled into a grin. "But remember, the bands made us look for the humans. And that led us to the human buildings, where Orestes was." Shade seemed to have no idea where Marina was going. "If you hadn't met Orestes, Shade, do you think King Boreal would have called the truce? He'd have had no reason to trust you, if you and Orestes hadn't trusted each other first." Lura and Marina shared a grin. "He thinks he's a smarty bat, doesn't he," the Graywing teased, and Shade laughed, finally understanding. "The Humans actually brought us together," Lura said, and Frieda nodded, adding, "They united us. We didn't win the sun through war; we won it through peace." Shade jerked his head up in alarm: Frieda had wrapped her wings around her weathered body, smiled, and closed her eyes, never to open them again. Marina and Ariel patted Shade, embracing each other and letting tears stain their fur.

A/N: Notice how I didn't mention Lura in the last few sentences. It was a Shade/Marina/Ariel moment, but I wonder where she went.

Lura: You don't even know where your own characters are?! Pathetic!

Me: I was adding to the suspense, the drama if you will, of the moment!

Lura: How lame.

Me: Oh, this isn't a break before the next chapter. It's just a break between the story. I'm putting dialogue to announce the switching of characters' points of view instead of using a line.

Lura: Then, get on with it! This is the best part, I think so. It has all me in it!

Chinook hung alone on a branch just outside the new Tree Haven. He'd finished up hollowing out his section of the tree, as had Marina and Lura. They'd probably made their roosts already, and he felt a pang as he thought of Marina. He'd dropped the question out of the blue already, but as he talked to her, he knew that she'd refuse. He had the suspicion that she already knew what he was going to ask, and had already made up her mind to refuse. Heaving a sigh, he focused his echoes on Shade as the not-so-runty Silverwing flew out of one of the many new knotholes in Tree Haven and flew off into the forest. Lucky runt, he thought, feeling the familiar rivalry they'd harbored against each other from the moment they were old enough to fly. A pulse of wingbeats caught his ears and they vibrated, causing Chinook to look around for the source.

"Found you!"

Chinook screeched and, in shock, let his claws unclench and fell off the branch. Flapping hard, he managed to regain his position and folded his wings around him, feeling his face flush with embarrassment. "What are you doing here, Chinook? You look like you've been sulking for a while."

"I have not been sulking," he grumped, bristling his fur, and Lura giggled, then glanced away and tightened her claws. The bark creaked as the sharp points gouged the bark. She was milliseconds away from snapping her mouth open to ask, but Chinook said glumly, "I asked Marina," he muttered, refusing contact with Lura's shocked and outraged eyes. "Oh, you did?" She inched away from him. "Yeah, I did."

"Well, good for you. She is pretty, after all, and smart. I couldn't compare with her, now could I?" She snarled bitterly, shooting Chinook a hateful glance. He looked over at her, surprise making his eyes widen. A creek lay directly below them, pure and clear, and her reflection leered back up at her. The thick gray sideburns that all Graywings possessed were nowhere to be seen on Lura's face; they'd been burned off from the disc's explosion. Not to mention her wings were still healing from the heat that had melted and made some of her wing membrane droop, and patches of her fur still had yet to grow back. She couldn't stand it anymore. Her mother, father, her friends, losing her Colony. Then she found another one and the only male that had talked to her...she unfolded her wings with a whoosh of air and prepared to fly away. The next words she heard froze her heartbeat for a few seconds.

"She said no."

Folding her wings over her body again, she felt hot guilt melting her anger away. "I'm...sorry. I was just so mad." Chinook lifted his claws, one over the other, until he was roosting right next to her. In a swift movement he opened his wings and threw them around Lura, to her great surprise (although she didn't mind it that much).

"Chinook?"

"I thought I wanted Marina to be my mate, but I guess I really didn't. So..." he flushed, and with some difficulty gazed straight into Lura's eyes. "Will you be my mate?"

"What??" Lura screeched.

"You don't have to say yes," Chinook told her hurriedly, "If you don't want to, I'll under..."

"Yes," Lura said simply, causing Chinook to exclaim, "What?"

"Aww, look Shade, isn't that sweet."

"Yeah, brave, handsome Chinook doesn't give up for long."

The Graywing and Silverwing shot their heads up so quickly it hurt. "You were spying on us, runt?!"

"I couldn't resist." Chinook growled, and Lura nuzzled him, laughing. "Come on you two lovesick fuzz balls," Marina said, "don't you want to go see the round ball of light that Shade got back for us?" Chinook and Lura stared at each other, turning the idea over in their minds. Looking back at their friends, they grinned and shot off the branch together, ruffling Shade and Marina's silver and bright fur as they zoomed past. They rolled through the air and dove, causing the Brightwing and Silverwing to stare in amazement: it seemed their friends had gone completely crazy.

"You guys!" Shade yelled at the top of his lungs. Chinook and Lura banked, tilting their wings, and glided back to Shade and Marina. "I know the best place to watch the sun come up," he said, and nuzzled Marina under her chin. "Let's all go watch," he offered, and together the four of them soared off to get a safe glimpse of the sun they had been forbidden to see for millions of years, now theirs again.

Me: NOW it's the end! Was it good?

Lura: Shoulda been. _I _was in it, remember??

Me: Oh, yeah, I guess that made it OK.

Lura: What! (Starts beating Serasia over the head with her wings)

Me: Ow! Man, you sure can't tell when someone's joking, can you?!

Lura: Start writing a sequel about me, NOW!!

Me: (Whimper) Alright, alright...


End file.
